And I hope that they have a good life as they deserve to be treated with respect.
Monday, June 20, 2011
A few of my favorites
So here are three pictures that I really love and wanted to share, these animals are so amazing I really love them.
And I hope that they have a good life as they deserve to be treated with respect.
And I hope that they have a good life as they deserve to be treated with respect.
Chiang Mai
So on Friday we decided to spend the night in a neighboring town about 3 hours away..... and why you might ask haha well SHOPPING of course :)
My mom, brother, sister-in-law, Flo, and Pi-Noi all took a van and did the trip together. We had a great time and on the road did a few stops and one in particular involved a lot of us feeling car sick on the way up.... and when you finally see hope that the cars stopping you see the set of stairs you have to walk up... a little discouraging haha but worth it.
Its safe to say that walking up we took a few breaks :) At the top of the hill is a beautiful temple and a monk school. The temple is in the middle and the surrounded my beautiful art and a great view of the city, well worth the work out!
After spending a few moments to take in the view and catch our breath we figured out there was an elevator...... haha so we took it down although i think going up would have been better.
After leaving the temple we started heading into town where we spotted a few young monks with there teacher, there so cute and i wish i could have taken more pictures but they were moving to fast
After checking into our hotel we had a nice dinner (vegetable rice :)...) and then headed out to the night market. All the local markets here seem to be at night, I'm assuming because of the heat it makes it a little more bearable to walk around. The streets were lined with little booths and local items such as silks and jewelry. We loved it and shopped the night away!
My mom, brother, sister-in-law, Flo, and Pi-Noi all took a van and did the trip together. We had a great time and on the road did a few stops and one in particular involved a lot of us feeling car sick on the way up.... and when you finally see hope that the cars stopping you see the set of stairs you have to walk up... a little discouraging haha but worth it.
After spending a few moments to take in the view and catch our breath we figured out there was an elevator...... haha so we took it down although i think going up would have been better.
After leaving the temple we started heading into town where we spotted a few young monks with there teacher, there so cute and i wish i could have taken more pictures but they were moving to fast
After checking into our hotel we had a nice dinner (vegetable rice :)...) and then headed out to the night market. All the local markets here seem to be at night, I'm assuming because of the heat it makes it a little more bearable to walk around. The streets were lined with little booths and local items such as silks and jewelry. We loved it and shopped the night away!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF?
Ok so I cant help but ask this question because its hard not to notice the bathroom situations in some countries.
In Thailand for example they don't use toilet paper, a bathroom consists of a "squatter" which you can guess is low to the ground where you have to hover and squat with the choice of either a bucket of water or a shower head and your hand to clean... ( this is a public bathroom where you share the shower head.....)
Now in Peru there were some areas where there is no water = no plumbing = no bathrooms = a hole...
So the towns will have a community hole that they use until its full and then they will cover it and dig a new one. Lucky for us while we were there they had put a porcelain toilet over the hole haha and there was toilet paper!
So my questions is what would you prefer, either the hole with toilet paper or the enclosed squatter with your hand and water (shared water, so you can be using a dirty shower head from someone else)....
In Thailand for example they don't use toilet paper, a bathroom consists of a "squatter" which you can guess is low to the ground where you have to hover and squat with the choice of either a bucket of water or a shower head and your hand to clean... ( this is a public bathroom where you share the shower head.....)
Now in Peru there were some areas where there is no water = no plumbing = no bathrooms = a hole...
So the towns will have a community hole that they use until its full and then they will cover it and dig a new one. Lucky for us while we were there they had put a porcelain toilet over the hole haha and there was toilet paper!
So my questions is what would you prefer, either the hole with toilet paper or the enclosed squatter with your hand and water (shared water, so you can be using a dirty shower head from someone else)....
Thai Food
Ok so I have to talk about the food...... Now when I told people I was coming to Thailand all they could say was "Oh My God, the food is amazing....etc" well I have to say I cant figure out why.
I'll admit I'm a picky eater but still, there is no reason backed cashews or peanuts need to be cooked in FISH SAUCE......Even someone who likes fish has to admit the fish sauce is not the best tasting.
So I order vegetarian everything BUT I have had the luxury or learning through experience that vegetarian does not exclude FISH SAUCE, yum.....
Vegetarian Crispy Noodles- fried in fish sauce
Vegetarian Pad Thai- drizzled with fish sauce
Vegetarian Fried Rice- fried in fish sauce.... haha I think you get the point, now imagine the non-vegetarian kind! No Way!!!
(then all the food is listed but each page will have the exact items listed under a different category without explaining what makes is different)
Also I have to touch on the menu's, it seems most menu's have at least 5 pages of choices but each page will be a category-
For example:
Category- Traditional Thai
#57 Rice noodle with chicken and coconut curry
BUT UNDER Category Chinese you have the exact same item and unless you speak Thai and can ask what it is I swear we have no idea what were getting, its extremely confusing haha
....Well its safe to say I eat a lot of fruit and rice.... :)
oh and just for fun at breakfast this morning there were hard boiled eggs..... well of course an egg with a little salt and pepper is too simple so why not add fish sauce and chili.....
I'll admit I'm a picky eater but still, there is no reason backed cashews or peanuts need to be cooked in FISH SAUCE......Even someone who likes fish has to admit the fish sauce is not the best tasting.
So I order vegetarian everything BUT I have had the luxury or learning through experience that vegetarian does not exclude FISH SAUCE, yum.....
Vegetarian Crispy Noodles- fried in fish sauce
Vegetarian Pad Thai- drizzled with fish sauce
Vegetarian Fried Rice- fried in fish sauce.... haha I think you get the point, now imagine the non-vegetarian kind! No Way!!!
(then all the food is listed but each page will have the exact items listed under a different category without explaining what makes is different)
Also I have to touch on the menu's, it seems most menu's have at least 5 pages of choices but each page will be a category-
For example:
Category- Traditional Thai
#57 Rice noodle with chicken and coconut curry
BUT UNDER Category Chinese you have the exact same item and unless you speak Thai and can ask what it is I swear we have no idea what were getting, its extremely confusing haha
....Well its safe to say I eat a lot of fruit and rice.... :)
oh and just for fun at breakfast this morning there were hard boiled eggs..... well of course an egg with a little salt and pepper is too simple so why not add fish sauce and chili.....
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Golden Triangle
Today we drove to the Golden Triangle- this is where Thailand/Burma/Laos are all facing each other in the shape of a triangle in case you couldn't guess haha. It was really cool to see the proximity of three countries like that as well as how easy it is to just take a little boat over and not have any sort of customs or immigration.
Well I must say that was the highlight of the day haha things from that point on were a little on the down side... We continued up the mountain to a beautiful hotel where we had a not so good lunch before heading home ( on the bright side the hotel was next to an elephant rescue and you could hear them talking hehehe) On our way back to Chiang Rai we saw a sign for a hill tribe village called the "Karen Long Neck" so we decided to pull in and see what it was...
I have to say this is one of the worst things I've seen and I've traveled and seen a lot.... As soon as you pull in there's a really weird vibe, its hard to explain and then they charge you to go in. Once you enter its almost like supporting a sex trade in the tourism industry.... All the women are working while there are men controlling them and collecting money, it was the most uncomfortable feeling I have ever had.
As we were walking we weren't too sure what to do, just looking at these women you can tell they were forced to be there and work as well as the women wearing the neck rings were absolutely stunning but at the same time so sad.
As we were walking a man stopped us from heading towards the village saying we had to pay more money to see the girls, and its hard because we dont speak Thai and were in such shock that your not too sure how to act
I would bet that the men choose the pretty girls and start them off when there kids to wear the long necks. My mom had bought a scarf from a girl and the 1st thing she does is run to a man to give him the money, I couldn't believe it, after maybe 10 minutes there we couldn't take it and left.
While there I didn't even want to take pictures I felt so guilty and uncomfortable. When my mom bought the scarf I ended up taking a picture of the girl and felt really conflicted but I thought that this is a good way to tell people to not go and support whats happening.
So we just got in the car and left.
then on the way home there's two guys on motorbikes with these cages attached to the back each with t pig shoved in.... there noses were sticking out it was so tight... and there were going to get killed :( uggggg poor things
Well I must say that was the highlight of the day haha things from that point on were a little on the down side... We continued up the mountain to a beautiful hotel where we had a not so good lunch before heading home ( on the bright side the hotel was next to an elephant rescue and you could hear them talking hehehe) On our way back to Chiang Rai we saw a sign for a hill tribe village called the "Karen Long Neck" so we decided to pull in and see what it was...
I have to say this is one of the worst things I've seen and I've traveled and seen a lot.... As soon as you pull in there's a really weird vibe, its hard to explain and then they charge you to go in. Once you enter its almost like supporting a sex trade in the tourism industry.... All the women are working while there are men controlling them and collecting money, it was the most uncomfortable feeling I have ever had.
As we were walking we weren't too sure what to do, just looking at these women you can tell they were forced to be there and work as well as the women wearing the neck rings were absolutely stunning but at the same time so sad.
As we were walking a man stopped us from heading towards the village saying we had to pay more money to see the girls, and its hard because we dont speak Thai and were in such shock that your not too sure how to act
I would bet that the men choose the pretty girls and start them off when there kids to wear the long necks. My mom had bought a scarf from a girl and the 1st thing she does is run to a man to give him the money, I couldn't believe it, after maybe 10 minutes there we couldn't take it and left.
While there I didn't even want to take pictures I felt so guilty and uncomfortable. When my mom bought the scarf I ended up taking a picture of the girl and felt really conflicted but I thought that this is a good way to tell people to not go and support whats happening.
So we just got in the car and left.
then on the way home there's two guys on motorbikes with these cages attached to the back each with t pig shoved in.... there noses were sticking out it was so tight... and there were going to get killed :( uggggg poor things
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Elephants and A River Boat
This was my favorite day so far.... We started off our morning with a 30min river boat ride to an Aka elephant camp in the jungle.
The elephant camp is in a local tribe village in the north of Thailand (and don't worry I was pretty aware of everything in the sense of how they treated the elephants, I questioned them on everything haha)
I think that these are such special animals and I found it a little difficult to see them confined to a small space when they have such a huge jungle at their fingertips..... I think they should be free :(
AND of course how could we not give them a little snack while we were there... SO we bought them sugarcane and bananas hehe and gave them a little "TLC" :) :) :)
I really loved them, There so gentle and playful, and they have the kindest eyes its hard not to love them!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
The White Temple
Today I saw something pretty awesome, and the inside is even more amazing (no pics allowed inside the temple) We went to the "White Temple" . This is a temple done by an AMAZING artist. The inside is painted from ceiling to floor to represent Buddhist teachings and the meaning of life.... Now what make this so special is the artist painted everything to relate to our generation including the twin towers, cartoons, movies...... etc. Its really hard to explain but i think its amazing and the view its portrayed from really makes you think as well as makes it re-latable. You would have to see it to really understand but it includes SailorMoon fighting off evil so how can it not be awesome!!!
A little extra fact- Of course with everything in life there's always a ying and yang so if there's a white temple there is also a black temple representing evil, hopefully we'll get to go and I'll share that with you.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Heading North
Ok so today was just one of those days where you cant help but think someone somewhere is watching and laughing at you!
We started the day off really nice, went jewlry shopping for Tookatas wedding dress' and then headed back to the hotel to have a nice lunch before heading to the airport to catch our flight to Chiang Rai.
So were ready to leave and we call the front desk to ask then if someone can come help with the bags...pretty standard for traveling.... Then haha the bell boy took the bags so we assumed everything was fine. I left the room 1st and wen to get an elevatore and what did lucky me see..... the bell boy was standing in the elevator going through one of the bags and he took something out and was trying to steel it.
So he's standing the with or stuff in one had and an empty bag in the other.... I stood there until he noticed me and just then my mom walks up behind me and he drops everything in the bag and starts wrapping it up. So we get in the elevator and the guys pretended like nothing and started asking us about our trip. So we just let it go....
BUT
of course things are never that easy... All are bags were waiting to be loaded into a cab, I was waiting with them as my mom went to check out.
So we start loading the cab and at this poing Im watching every bag and of course the same bag he tried to steal earlier was missing again. He loaded the other bags and said all done and waited for a tip, at this point I was just surprised and how stupid people are and I told him he forgot a bag and he said "no no all there" and I said "COME I KNOW YOU LEFT ONE" and I walked up behind the bell desk where he hid it under a table grabbed it and gave it to him to put in the car haha It was pretty priceless, I think he thought he was pretty stealth but not for my smart ass!!!!
ok so were heading to the airport, check in, walk to the gate, wait for our flight......yes we waited but of course there's this little boy sitting by us that was so so sick there is no way he should be getting on a plane. His mom had walked away for around 25 minutes and this whole time the boys is coughing, gagging, crying, and having trouble breathing. It came to the point where we were going to get help and his prissy fashionista mom shows up where he instantly coughs up blood and throws up..... oh yay.......
Ok so were all on the plane and we find out the flight were taking is a training flight for beginner pilots! NOT GOOD it was one of the bumpiest landings ever........oh and someone from the hotel dropped my camera bag to top off the night...YAY haha
But were here and happy so its a new day and I'm excited!!!
We started the day off really nice, went jewlry shopping for Tookatas wedding dress' and then headed back to the hotel to have a nice lunch before heading to the airport to catch our flight to Chiang Rai.
So were ready to leave and we call the front desk to ask then if someone can come help with the bags...pretty standard for traveling.... Then haha the bell boy took the bags so we assumed everything was fine. I left the room 1st and wen to get an elevatore and what did lucky me see..... the bell boy was standing in the elevator going through one of the bags and he took something out and was trying to steel it.
So he's standing the with or stuff in one had and an empty bag in the other.... I stood there until he noticed me and just then my mom walks up behind me and he drops everything in the bag and starts wrapping it up. So we get in the elevator and the guys pretended like nothing and started asking us about our trip. So we just let it go....
BUT
of course things are never that easy... All are bags were waiting to be loaded into a cab, I was waiting with them as my mom went to check out.
So we start loading the cab and at this poing Im watching every bag and of course the same bag he tried to steal earlier was missing again. He loaded the other bags and said all done and waited for a tip, at this point I was just surprised and how stupid people are and I told him he forgot a bag and he said "no no all there" and I said "COME I KNOW YOU LEFT ONE" and I walked up behind the bell desk where he hid it under a table grabbed it and gave it to him to put in the car haha It was pretty priceless, I think he thought he was pretty stealth but not for my smart ass!!!!
ok so were heading to the airport, check in, walk to the gate, wait for our flight......yes we waited but of course there's this little boy sitting by us that was so so sick there is no way he should be getting on a plane. His mom had walked away for around 25 minutes and this whole time the boys is coughing, gagging, crying, and having trouble breathing. It came to the point where we were going to get help and his prissy fashionista mom shows up where he instantly coughs up blood and throws up..... oh yay.......
Ok so were all on the plane and we find out the flight were taking is a training flight for beginner pilots! NOT GOOD it was one of the bumpiest landings ever........oh and someone from the hotel dropped my camera bag to top off the night...YAY haha
But were here and happy so its a new day and I'm excited!!!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
A day with new family
Today we got to meet our new In-Laws. We went to Tookata's mothers house where we spent the day with her family, and getting to know everyone. The language barrier is really difficult buy the local people are so nice that we can just sit and giggle at our communication skills haha. Its amazing to see the life style, and the simplicity in which the live....
Tookata and her mom
I learned about a Thai style bathroom, which involves a bucket of water and a hole..... haha I'll try to get a good picture of one but I'm avoiding them!
Everything is open, the living space is just a huge balcony surrounded by nature and Mosquito's!!! I was eaten alive today on my feet :( but then we walked around the neighbors and it was pretty awesome to see, there's so much traffic on the roads that river boats are a really popular choice. In the river were thousands of catfish, protected by the monks- so no one will fish, therefore its sooooo overpopulated that there flying everywhere and I think they must get chewed up a little when a boat passes... there's too many and no where to swim too. :(
Tookata and her mom
I learned about a Thai style bathroom, which involves a bucket of water and a hole..... haha I'll try to get a good picture of one but I'm avoiding them!
Everything is open, the living space is just a huge balcony surrounded by nature and Mosquito's!!! I was eaten alive today on my feet :( but then we walked around the neighbors and it was pretty awesome to see, there's so much traffic on the roads that river boats are a really popular choice. In the river were thousands of catfish, protected by the monks- so no one will fish, therefore its sooooo overpopulated that there flying everywhere and I think they must get chewed up a little when a boat passes... there's too many and no where to swim too. :(
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Day of Temples
Today was a day of touring temples in Bangkok, we went to The Golden Buddha, The Grand Palace, and the Horizontal Buddha (3rd biggest in Thailand, bigger than a house)
The Golden Buddha was beautiful, its like a little shimmer in the mess of the city.
While there we learned about the religion and how to give thanks and respect. There was a Buddha where you can make a wish, so you put a lotus flower in a bowl in front of the Buddha and then you place a candle. While the candle burns you light your incense in front of Buddha and make your wish :)... its very beautiful to watch and I found it was a really special memory.
In this picture each lotus is from us, from left to right:
My Mom, Me, Julian and Tookata
Tookata Praying
We then went to the Grand Palace which there is no way to describe it. Its one of those things you need to see the really appreciate. Almost everything is hand painted, and the amount of gold is amazing.
Truly an amazing example of ancient art and architecture, and when I'm in the temples and seeing the culture really makes me think about how materialistic our lives have become, everything seems much simpler here. I cant wait to leave Bangkok and head north to really see the country away from the tourism part. I can only imagine how beautiful it will be :)
The Golden Buddha was beautiful, its like a little shimmer in the mess of the city.
While there we learned about the religion and how to give thanks and respect. There was a Buddha where you can make a wish, so you put a lotus flower in a bowl in front of the Buddha and then you place a candle. While the candle burns you light your incense in front of Buddha and make your wish :)... its very beautiful to watch and I found it was a really special memory.
In this picture each lotus is from us, from left to right:
My Mom, Me, Julian and Tookata
Tookata Praying
We then went to the Grand Palace which there is no way to describe it. Its one of those things you need to see the really appreciate. Almost everything is hand painted, and the amount of gold is amazing.
Truly an amazing example of ancient art and architecture, and when I'm in the temples and seeing the culture really makes me think about how materialistic our lives have become, everything seems much simpler here. I cant wait to leave Bangkok and head north to really see the country away from the tourism part. I can only imagine how beautiful it will be :)
Night in Bangkok
"Lady Boys"
...ok well this was pretty amazing at the quantity of "Lady Boys" around the streets. So a "Lady Boy" is a boy who looks/acts just like a woman and most of them you would never be able to tell. Its pretty amazing, and whats even better is all the foreigners picking up prostitutes who don't know the difference (until they get to a room). But seriously I can totally see how after a beer or two its impossible to see, they look better then the women haha But there's so many creepy foreign men lurking around is pretty sad.
Now for a Fun Fact courtesy of my brother: Sex toys are illegal in Thailand therefor there is a huge "used" market...... and yes its as bad as you think, used Dildos wrapped in plastic so you can see how used your merchandise is and take it from me its STD's on a platter....ewwww
Sorry no pictures for this I'm sure you can understand why hahaha
As well as our tour of the city "people' haha we went to a Jazz club where my brother in law plays the saxophone. It was AMAZING!!!! they local Thai talent was so impressive, and my brother in law was amazing- he is one of the best in Thailand and acknowledged by the king. So much power from such a little guy :) I loved it! It really topped off the night, i felt like I was is an old blues house it made me forget where I was for a little.
...ok well this was pretty amazing at the quantity of "Lady Boys" around the streets. So a "Lady Boy" is a boy who looks/acts just like a woman and most of them you would never be able to tell. Its pretty amazing, and whats even better is all the foreigners picking up prostitutes who don't know the difference (until they get to a room). But seriously I can totally see how after a beer or two its impossible to see, they look better then the women haha But there's so many creepy foreign men lurking around is pretty sad.
Now for a Fun Fact courtesy of my brother: Sex toys are illegal in Thailand therefor there is a huge "used" market...... and yes its as bad as you think, used Dildos wrapped in plastic so you can see how used your merchandise is and take it from me its STD's on a platter....ewwww
Sorry no pictures for this I'm sure you can understand why hahaha
As well as our tour of the city "people' haha we went to a Jazz club where my brother in law plays the saxophone. It was AMAZING!!!! they local Thai talent was so impressive, and my brother in law was amazing- he is one of the best in Thailand and acknowledged by the king. So much power from such a little guy :) I loved it! It really topped off the night, i felt like I was is an old blues house it made me forget where I was for a little.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
The Flight
THE FLIGHT:
So I must say the flight was not half as bad as I thought it would be! Since we took off at 12am we went straight to sleep and by the time it was breakfast 8 hours went by! After that it was more sleeping and movies and then we landed. Oh and the movie list on these flights are quite, awesome there was everything you could want and even movies that are still in theaters!
Landing was pretty cool, we got too see a lot of farmland and fishing over the coast.... oh and the humidity...it pretty much smacks you in the face when the plane door opens haha And then your in a whole new world, its kind of a weird feeling.... Usually because I speak French and Spanish while traveling I can pick up a lot but not here... this kinda makes you feel helpless trying to read any signs.
It was awesome to see my brother and sister in law, I think this is a really special trip for us, actually I think this is the 1st trip my brother and I have been on together since we were kids (i know he lives here but its still a new exploration for us :) )
So we are now showered and ready to explore the markets!
So I must say the flight was not half as bad as I thought it would be! Since we took off at 12am we went straight to sleep and by the time it was breakfast 8 hours went by! After that it was more sleeping and movies and then we landed. Oh and the movie list on these flights are quite, awesome there was everything you could want and even movies that are still in theaters!
Landing was pretty cool, we got too see a lot of farmland and fishing over the coast.... oh and the humidity...it pretty much smacks you in the face when the plane door opens haha And then your in a whole new world, its kind of a weird feeling.... Usually because I speak French and Spanish while traveling I can pick up a lot but not here... this kinda makes you feel helpless trying to read any signs.
It was awesome to see my brother and sister in law, I think this is a really special trip for us, actually I think this is the 1st trip my brother and I have been on together since we were kids (i know he lives here but its still a new exploration for us :) )
So we are now showered and ready to explore the markets!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
The Beginning...
So today is DAY 1 on our 3 week trip to Thailand. My mother and I are headed onto an 18 hour flight to where we will land in Bangkok. Now one of the perk about traveling with this beautiful woman known to some as my Muma is that we are flying first class, so it helps a little knowing that Ill have a blanket and not be charged for it haha.
So now we are sitting in the Sky lounge waiting to board and hopefully I'll have internet and be able to share something actually worth reading in the near future.!
Love you Muma!
So now we are sitting in the Sky lounge waiting to board and hopefully I'll have internet and be able to share something actually worth reading in the near future.!
Love you Muma!
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